Advances and Trends in Enhanced Oil Recovery Technologies for Heavy Oil in Shengli Oilfield

The proven reserves of heavy oil in Shengli Oilfield amount to 7.50×10⁸ t, yet its development faces bottlenecks such as low oil recovery of cyclic steam stimulation and poor quality of hard-to-recover reserves. To efficiently develop deep, low permeability, thin, and highly sensitive heavy oil reservoirs, Shengli Oilfield has established a differentiated enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technique system based on mechanism studies and pilot tests, including multi-component thermal flooding, high pressure viscosity reduction flooding for low-permeability heavy oil, and multi-component thermal recovery using multi-lateral horizontal wells. Such technologies have significantly improved both well productivity and overall block oil recovery, effectively supporting stable heavy oil production and increasing economic benefits. Currently, facing challenges such as increasingly complex heavy oil reservoir conditions, urgent demands for energy transition, and continuously enhanced green and low-carbon constraints, Shengli Oilfield needs to strengthen interdisciplinary integration. Systematic scientific research should be conducted to deepen mechanistic understanding, optimize process combination, and enhance system efficiency, etc. Key areas include multi-component thermal flooding using complex well patterns, in-situ heavy oil extraction, nanotechnology for oil recovery, and new energy-assisted thermal recovery. The aim is to develop a new-generation EOR system for heavy oil adaptable to complex reservoir conditions, providing technical support for the efficient development of heavy oil.